WWE Elimination Chamber PPV Evaluation 2/17
By Nathan Kyght, PWTorch PPV specialist

BEST MATCH – ELIMINATION CHAMBER

The match started slowly, but from the time Mark Henry entered the fray this match picked up in a big way. Chris Jericho continued his great in-ring run since returning at the Royal Rumble, and it was surprising to see Jack Swagger go over; seemingly a month ago, no one even knew if he was still employed by WWE.

WORST MATCH – KAITLYN VS. TAMINA SNUKA

Another in a seemingly endless run of forgettable Divas matches on pay-per-view. Please, someone write this division a story.

BIGGEST SURPRISE – JACK SWAGGER WINS

Apparently Vince McMahon must really love the new Zeb Colter "We the People" gimmick, as Swagger went from a guy that was less than an after-thought to being in one of the main events of WrestleMania. It'll be interesting to see how they follow up (as I'm writing this a week late, I have the benefit of hindsight seeing how Swagger himself followed up. Which is to say, poorly.)

BIGGEST LETDOWN – STALEMATE

I get that this is the last pay-per-view before WrestleMania, but this was truly a placeholder show. That's not to say that it didn't have its moments, but there was certainly nothing particularly noteworthy for the most part.

BEST QUOTES – ZEB COULTER

Regardless of whether you like the gimmick, Dutch Mantel is absolutely nailing his portrayal of this character.

BEST MOVE – ROCK BOTTOM

It was a little strange seeing C.M. Punk's over one-year-long run end at the Rumble with an elbow drop, so it was good to see the exclamation point put on the feud the right way.

BEST MATCH FINISH – ROCK VS. PUNK

They could have swerved their audience by having Punk win, setting up a three-way at WrestleMania, but this was the right move. The champion heads to the main event looking strong, and the redemption of John Cena story gains some weight.

OTHER THOUGHTS

- Antonio Caesaro and The Miz had a decent match, although Miz continues to have a hard time clicking as a babyface. And, whoever thought that making him "the new Ric Flair" would get him over was out of his or her mind.

- Alberto Del Rio and The Big Show had the worst match of their series, I thought, but it wasn't terrible. It didn't help that the booking was so wacky: two Last Man Standing matches led to the big blow-off, a one-on-one match?

- Dolph Ziggler and Kofi Kingston had a good TV match, nothing more. Ziggler suddenly seems lost in the shuffle. Familiar, right?

- The Shield and Cena, Sheamus, and Ryback had a very exciting match (although, please, Kevin Dunn, stop zooming in or every move The Shield does. It's unwatchable.) I like the "danger" WWE has created around The Shield, and I'm curious to see their roles at WrestleMania.

WHAT IT’LL BE REMEMBERED FOR

The Road To WrestleMania began in earnest. With seven weeks to go at the time of this PPV, I assume that there will be some twists in the storytelling as we head into the biggest wrestling show of the year, but Rock-Cena II, Brock Lesnar-Triple H, and C.M. Punk-Undertaker look to be the top matches on April 7. This was an okay show with some good moments.

UPDATED 2013 PPV EVALUATION RANKINGS

1 – WWE ROYAL RUMBLE (2013-01-27)
2 - WWE ELIMINATION CHAMBER (2013-02-17)
3 – TNA GENESIS (2013-01-13)

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